Digital Vikings Awards 2026: Moi Rai Brings Best Indie Game Prize to Hamburg

Awards

GamesPreis26 Honours Sagewing Studios, Slothmotion and Vivid Arise

400 people visited the GamesFestival26 this Saturday in Munich, playing real life Mario Kart and countless indie games. The annual GamesPreis was awarded as well, to students as well as young studios such as Sagewing and Slothmotion.

By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read

Esports

Esports Leaders Honours Winners Announced; Leipzig eSports Receives the Local Hero Award

The inaugural Esports Leaders Honours ceremony took place on 19 June 2026 as part of Global Esports Industry Week in Cologne. Leipzig eSports was awarded the Local Hero Award during the ceremony.

By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read

Awards

Sweden Honours Hazelight Studios With Government’s Export Award For CCI

The Swedish Government has recognised the achievements of Stockholm-based Hazelight Studios as an export company. The studio behind A Way Out, It Takes Two and Split Fiction received the Government’s Export Award in the Cultural and Creative Industries category.

By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read

Gamers Heaven Attracts 5,000 visitors in Its Third Year

The third edition of the regional games and community fair, Gamers Heaven, held in Telfs, Austria, was also a resounding success. The organisers report a significant increase in attendance, with 5,000 visitors. The number of exhibitors has doubled.

By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read

Insights

The Most Successful German Streamers, Week 26 2026

According to data by StreamAwards, the biggest German streamers of the last week were eliasn97, zarbex, MontanaBlack88 and Gronkh. Sorted for gender, the most successful female streamer was AnniTheDuck, albeit with significantly lower numbers.

By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read

People

Adrian Chmielarz on AAA Mediocrity, Creativity in Small Teams and Witchfire

Witchfire from The Astronauts is an acclaimed shooter currently available on Early Access. We spoke to co-owner Adrian Chmielarz about the current state of the AAA shooter genre, the creative nature of the AA segment, and the game's lengthy development period since it was first announced in 2017.

By Marcel Kleffmann • 8 min read

Politics

Politicians Visit Pixel Maniacs, Spaceflower and Mimustudio

At their office hub in Nuremberg, Pixel Maniacs and their sister studios received Digital Minister Fabian Mehring, Bavarian State Parliament member Jochen Kohler and Nuremberg city councillor Sabine Sendner yesterday.

By Pascal Wagner •

Products

Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions

Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions, System Era and Devolver Digital have released a cooperative space action-adventure game featuring extraction elements on PC and consoles via Early Access. This game is not Astroneer 2.0, and it has had a difficult start.

By Marcel Kleffmann • 6 min read

Products

Salmi Games Announces PvE VR Extraction Shooter Drifters: Blackout Crew

Munich-based VR games developer Salmi Games, the creators of Sweet Surrender, has unveiled its new project at the VR Games Showcase: the co-op extraction shooter Drifters: Blackout Crew, which is being developed for Meta Quest and SteamVR.

By Stephan Steininger • 2 min read